A Chance
by ToriTC198
Summary: Derek and Stiles adopt a werewolf baby but Stiles is leery of her. Derek has to convince him to give her a chance.


This is just a quick story done for a TUMBLR prompt.

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The ringing phone dragged Stiles from sleep and with a glance at the caller ID he prepared himself for another round of Derek trying to convince him to come home.

Derek started talking the second the phone picked up, not even waiting for Stiles to greet him. "Stiles," Derek sounded mildly annoyed but mostly just hurt, "She's not going to hurt you. Please come home."

"Yeah. You're probably right, except for the part where she BIT me last time I was near her. That shit may be alright for you because you heal again instantly, but I'm just a fragile human." They had been over this argument again and again in the three days since Stiles had gone to stay with his dad. It has been a week now since he and Derek had found Claudia abandoned on their front steps.

"I won't let her hurt you, Stiles. She only bit you because you scared her. Please, come home. I need you with me."

Stiles sighed in frustration but he agreed at last. He stretched the kinks out of his back as he stood up. Sleeping on a couch for three days really isn't comfortable. After scarfing down a quick breakfast Stiles jotted a note thanking his dad for letting him crash there and then he clambered into his Jeep and headed home.

He pulled up to the sight of Derek on the porch holding Claudia in one arm. Stiles sat in his Jeep for a good five minutes trying to work up the motivation to get out. On the one hand there was Derek looking sexy as hell and quite honestly Stiles had missed him more than he could possibly say. On the other hand, Derek was holding a werebaby made of sharp teeth and razor claws who had little to no control over her shifts. Stiles was still debating getting out when the choice was taken away from him by Derek opening the door for him. The look on Derek's face was a painful cross between hurt and frustrated.

Stiles did his best to smile at Derek, while avoiding looking at the baby in his arms. Then he slid out of the Jeep all while keeping his body as far away from the baby as possible. Just to be safe.

"Stiles, she's just a baby. Please stop acting like she's a monster."

The wounded tone of Derek's voice stopped Stiles cold. His mind played the word monster over and over again and for the first time since the baby had shown up Stiles truly stopped to think about how his treatment of Claudia was effecting Derek.

He thought about the fact that perhaps treating Claudia like she was a monster could be sending Derek the message that he too was a monster. Which made Stiles just like everyone else who had ever judged Derek without giving him a chance. So was it really that different to do the same thing with Claudia? How was treating her like a monster for being a werewolf any different than what hunters so often did to Derek?

That first day, Derek had fallen in love with Claudia instantly. After convincing a nervous Stiles that they could raise her together he had gone off and bought every baby thing he could possibly find and he had come home with a smile and informed Stiles that he wanted to name her after Stiles' mom.

Stiles had smiled weakly and acted excited, but at the same time his shoulder throbbed lightly from where the baby had accidentally raked him with her claws. The next few days had only gotten worse. Stiles flinched away from Claudia when she yawned, displaying her pointy teeth. He had been scratched a few more times too and each one ached.

On the fourth day he had been carrying her from the changing table back to her crib. To be technical, he had been running with her. He wanted to minimize the time he was holding her just in case she decided to become a bit more sharp. Something about the combination of running and the fear she smelled on him had freaked her out and the next thing Stiles knew he had werewolf teeth dug into his collarbone and he had needed stitches. That day he had retreated to his dad's house for safety.

Stiles realized he had been spacing out when he noticed Derek waving a hand in front of his face. Stiles eyes traced up Derek's arm to where it met his body before they finally settled on the small baby nestled against his strong chest. The baby Stiles had feared from day one without ever really giving her a chance. Sure, she had pointy appendages that Stiles would have to get used to but then again Derek also had sharp appendages and Stiles had gotten used to that.

Looking at her now in the sunlight cradled against Derek, Stiles felt something shift in his heart. Her tiny hands were clutching his shirt as she slept and Stiles had never seen anything so beautiful. After a brief moment of hesitation he reached his hand out to gently stroke her soft cheek. When her eyes cracked open he felt a brief flash of fear but it was quickly followed by an overwhelming joy when Claudia's eyes lit up and her face broke into a grin. Her hands untangled from Derek's shirt and she reached out to Stiles.

Unable to stop his own smile, Stiles reached over to take Claudia from Derek, holding her gently to him and laughing when she latched on to his finger and tried to pull it into her mouth. Derek smiled at him, the kind of smile that was so bright it hurt to look at, and then he wrapped his arms around Stiles and Claudia. Stiles leaned into the embrace as he gazed down at the baby. Claudia Hale. Their daughter. His family.


End file.
